To save lives, he doused fire with bares hands

Caretaker of a night shelter at Majnu Ka Tila that houses 40 homeless people, Ram rushed to douse a fire at the shelter on February 9.

Had it not been for Dhani Ram's quick thinking and bravery, 40 lives would have been in grave danger.

Caretaker of a night shelter at Majnu Ka Tila that houses 40 homeless people, Ram rushed to douse a fire at the shelter on February 9.

He was alerted about the impending disaster by a 12-year-old boy from a nearby slum.

"The boy came running to me and told me that the back of the tent had caught fire. It was because of him that I was able to reach the spot on time," Ram said.

Ram fought the fire with bare hands, saving the lives of those inside the tent at the time.

Shravan, the child who raised an alarm, stays in a slum colony near the shelter.

"I had to extinguish the fire and there was nothing else to do but use my bare hands. If I had not been alerted on time the tent would have burned down," he added.

Ram is originally from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, and has been living in Delhi for the past 15 years. The rest of his family lives in Jhansi. His mother, who is paraplegic, also stays with his wife and four children in Jhansi.

Before taking up the job of the tent's caretaker, Dhani Ram used to earn his living as a construction worker and would sleep on the streets.

Two night shelters in Jama Masijd area were gutted on January 28 when they caught fire early in the morning.

A nine-year-old child was killed in the fire.

If a tent catches fire it spreads very quickly as they are made of cloth. Heaters and bonfires around the tent during the winter months also increase the probability of fire.